A High School Football Player Says Pink Cleats Got Him Kicked Off The Team

By Tracey Lomrantz,Glamour magazine

Tom Brady, Eli Manning, and Drew Brees all proved how good football players can look in pink when they took to the field in magenta gloves and cleats all throughout October to support Breast Cancer Awareness, but when one high school player followed suit, he says he was kicked off the team.

Mississippi high school student (and star kicker) Coy Sheppard says when he hit the field at an October 8 game in a pair of pink cleats, given to him by his 82-year-old cancer surviving-grandmother, coach Chris Peterson asked him to remove them. When Coy refused--and wore them to practice again the following week--he says he was dismissed from the squad. The phys ed credits he was supposed to receive for being on the team have now been revoked, and he's filed a lawsuit claiming that his graduation may be in jeopardy.

According to USA Today, "District Deputy Superintendent Tom Duncan said the problem isn't the color of Coy's shoes but that the student ignored the orders of his coaches to take off the shoes. 'It had absolutely nothing to do with lack of support for breast cancer awareness,' he said. Duncan also said the coach told Coy he would be allowed to make up his lost PE credit and graduate on time." Coy's lawyer, a former supreme court justice, said his client "has apologized and promised to leave the pink shoes at home, but school officials have not budged."

The suit asks that he be reinstated on the football team, have his school record cleared, and donate all monetary damages to the American Cancer Society. Do you guys think Coy should be allowed back on the team? Are you surprised with how the school handled the incident? Do you think players should be allowed to wear what they want to support their causes, or does the coach have final say? Did they make too big a deal out of a pair of pink shoes? We're curious to hear what you ladies have to say about this one...


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Photo Credit: worldsoccershop.com